Arizona weekly citizen., 1887-06-11
A MEXICAN OLLA PODRIDA

Not Bad Field for Temperance Crusa-
 derS-PuIque, the Beverage Invented
 by old Papantein, A. ID 99O. HOW Used
 at the Rate of sO.OOO Gallons per Diem at tho Capital City Alone.-"seSgar's Day m nMeKico.-Trickso of Professional , Mendicants.
 CITY OF MEXICO, May 27th, 1887. EDITOR CTTIzES:-Eyerybody has heard of pulque, the national beverage
 ID this portion of the woTld-the fer mented milk of that species of cacti
 known tO northorners as the century plant, or aloe. (Agsvo Americena,J here : called magueY. Although there are
 more than thirty thousand licensed
 pulque-shops in the city of Mexico
 alone,-besides innumerable booths stalls and bar rooms, where that and
 other beverages a.e dispensed. and
 although the popular drink eos,s but a
 penny schooner or two cents per
 qusst, the shops are all profitable.
 Very little pulque is sold at wholesale
 as most Mexicans who make R business Of
 cultivatIng maguey maintain their own
 shops for retailing 1t. A certain we'll
 known erls.Ocrat of thIs city, who rides
 m his rriage aud is reckOned among
 the magnaies of the land, has five
 pnlqnerigs, from winch he Is said Co
 derive the neat little income of S2j. .OOO
 per Gnnum According to official
 statistics, little more than S0.OOO gal
 Ions Ot puique are sold every day ID the
 Mexican capitol, and nearly double that
 amount on Sundays and Saints days. | Three special trans. laden with nothing
 but pulque, run daily into the City ot
 Mexico from the nearby plains of Apsm and OtuLsba, where much mHguey is cultivated. From thIs industry alone the Federal government derives h revenue of U thousand dollars per diem ln the way Ot GIties, and the railroads an equal BmOun; for transportation of the same.
 What a field i3 ttis for the Temper ance Crusader. But the crusader would | do better lO mud his own affairs. or tO | ! turn hls attention elsewhere, for pulque ! IS uOt Onlg Ous of the most heallhfu! l and hgtmis Ot beverages, but IL Is one | of tue few blessings which the poor oi { Mexico eIJ Jy.-aud Heaven knows thelr | comforts are lew enough. Being Lot a. 1 all heavy 10 lts effects, the worst abuse | of the blessing LEAVES SO HEADACHE BEHIND,
 But serves only to intensity the gallantry | of the guZ!er, making him slng aud | dance tlll the sleepy stage comes ou, showing hls white teeth ID coutiuual | laughter, and hauling of his ragged | somOTcrO Co passing ladies, with the | most respectful sAlaams. Two cents | worth of puiqus wll render the poor est peasant happier than king, while five cents worth will secure him the homer Of Geing escorted by men much higher n the social scale than himself, (the pOllce) tO the nearest carcel, and en engagement to work for the government fOrtnish. or Sc, to begin when he awskes next oay, with beans and tor tillas provided. As may be inferred. the Government has DO lack or lsbOrers on these easy terms, and finds no diff
 cuity ID thus keeping the streets well paved and simulsr public duties per formed,
 While iu moist climates one may i'm
 bibe considerable quantities of the | usual intoxicanti with comparative i'm puDity, in tbsse hIgher attitudes of the tropic- much smaller dose Is surpris- ingly harmful And right here permit me to sdd that some unfortunate Americans who have fallen into disgrace because Of undue c1nviyIailty at the Mexican capi- tai, really deserve cOmmiserstIOn rather than the cOntumely that has been heaDed upon them. In most cases they were the victims of ignorance on their own part, or of sly practical jokes perpetrat- ed by the AleXicans, whO-hoWeyer polite they may sppesr-are jealous of
 the Americans and delighted Co put | l them at disadvantage. The same | beverage which gentlemen may use | socislly ID the north with DO III effects | l If partaksn here m equal measures, first | exhileratss the imbiber beyond all ac- count and then leaves him for days in state Of utter stupidity. Most foreigners learn this only by sad experience, and the "gilded youth of ths capital find great pleasure in
 INITIATING FRESH SUBJECT,
 especially II he comes iu the interests | of his government.
 OfcOUrse my own opportunities for | | observing this phase of Mexican life are | somewhat limited; but l am told by an | | American journalist, twhO certainly | ought to knOw,) that common whiskles | and brandies. which are never safe | beverages m warm countries, are here . simply suicidal. The SpauiRrds confne | themselves 10 oOguBo BDi sour | wines, while MeXiCans of the bet
 ter class nave cl8ret at lheIr nome tables, | with champagne, etc, for festive occa- sions. American mixed drinks are not | popular. and in fact are scarcely known | below the Rio Grande, the scarcity ]. of Ice making iullps, etc, out of the | question ID most portions Of the cOuu- | try. In the City of Me1lcO Tee may be | procured, but ss It all comes from the slmmI, of Popocatipetl, brought down on the backs of Indians Co the nearest l railway station. one does not grumhls
 st the prIce of the congssled moisture 1 (l5 cents per pouuc). but wisely con ciudes to dispense Wlth it.
 Strangers ID Mexico are at first great | ly troubled with thirst, Es rapid evapor-
 ation renders the mouth and throat extremely dry, Water affords DO relief.
 and is withsl more dangerous to indulge | in than any "tBng!e foot" whose effects
 may be slept of. When Fe reflect that this old, old cIty-thc ancient TenOch- tItlen of the early Aziecs-hRs been She site of a populous city for more than | tims-whIle empires have arisen and fallen, dynasties decayed and myralds have lIyei, died nrd been buried here this implike hollow high mp m the hills has never been drained. but on the con trary has been drained into from the surrounding country. one as 10 dIspo- sitiOn to taste the waters of go vast n | chBrnel-hOuse.
 To be sure there is the living spring
 of Chspultepec. still brought down to
 the capitol by that old Spanish acque- duct, five mics long and three hun dred wears oldl. but unless you live
 close by one of its few fountains and
 see the sweet, pure water taken there | from. you cBn never be sure of vhaI yon Il are drinking The llcenstd Carriers, who peddles water from door Co door. st the | | rate of a iarrito full for ilsc0 l 8 cent l aud halD is qnite Gs likely tO have | drawn It from some filthy well, filled | with
 wAsHINGs FROM THE CAMPO sASTO. l Ofhar rortso-e rF tlfFz volcanic conn